Greetings,

On Saturday, April 10, 2010 the Nye County Democratic Party will be holding its Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at the Nevada Treasure Resort in Pahrump.  The evening begins at 7:00 pm.  Our speakers will be; Senator Harry Reid, Congresswomen Berkley and Titus, State Treasurer Marshall and State Controller Wallin.  We will also have candidates for office speaking.

Tickets are:  $40.00 each/$70.00 per couple/$300.00 per table.  You may call me at 775-910-3494 to order tickets or you may send a check to:  1201 S. Hwy 160, Suite 105, Pahrump, NV 89048.  If you would like the tickets mailed to you, please enclose a SASE otherwise you may pick them up at the door. 

We need to get an accurate count for dinner for the caterer, so please contact me as soon as possible if you will be coming.

We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Kathleen L. Bienenstein,

Chair, Nye County Jefferson-Jackson Dinner Committee

Recent Senate Votes

Temporary Extension Act of 2010 – Vote Passed (78-19, 3 Not Voting) The Senate passed this bill that provides short-term extensions of a number of programs that expired February 28, including unemployment benefits and federal health care subsidies for jobless workers. The bill was quickly signed by the President. Sen. John Ensign voted NO……send e-mail or see bio Sen. Harry Reid voted YES……send e-mail or see bio

Recent House Votes

Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act – Vote Passed (262-153, 16 Not Voting) The House passed this legislation that would establish the first federal safety standards on seclusion and restraint in schools, allowing for restraints in cases when there is immediate danger to the student or others. The bill now heads to the Senate. Rep. Shelley Berkley voted YES……send e-mail or see bio Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act – Vote Passed (217-201, 14 Not Voting) The House approved this bill that would provide $13 billion in payroll tax relief over 10 years for employers who hire unemployed workers and extend through 2010 a law that allows small businesses to deduct up to $250,000 in qualified expenses. The bill goes to the Senate. Rep. Shelley Berkley voted YES……send e-mail or see bio

Recent House Votes

Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act – Vote Passed (262-153, 16 Not Voting) The House passed this legislation that would establish the first federal safety standards on seclusion and restraint in schools, allowing for restraints in cases when there is immediate danger to the student or others. The bill now heads to the Senate. Rep. Dean Heller voted NO……send e-mail or see bio Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act – Vote Passed (217-201, 14 Not Voting) The House approved this bill that would provide $13 billion in payroll tax relief over 10 years for employers who hire unemployed workers and extend through 2010 a law that allows small businesses to deduct up to $250,000 in qualified expenses. The bill goes to the Senate. Rep. Dean Heller voted NO……send e-mail or see bio

Recent House Votes

Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act – Vote Passed (262-153, 16 Not Voting) The House passed this legislation that would establish the first federal safety standards on seclusion and restraint in schools, allowing for restraints in cases when there is immediate danger to the student or others. The bill now heads to the Senate. Rep. Dina Titus voted YES……send e-mail or see bio Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act – Vote Passed (217-201, 14 Not Voting) The House approved this bill that would provide $13 billion in payroll tax relief over 10 years for employers who hire unemployed workers and extend through 2010 a law that allows small businesses to deduct up to $250,000 in qualified expenses. The bill goes to the Senate. Rep. Dina Titus voted YES……send e-mail or see bio

Note that Congressman Heller voted against business deductions for  hiring unemployed workers.

The candidates are registering to run this week. To run any election campaign requires money. Where is the money coming from for this 2010 election cycle. It is early but here is the current count of the top contributors here in Nevada:

 That is the big donors. Now how are the various candidates doing raising money for their campaigns. Remember, the candidate list may not be complete because candidates can file for election to an office through next Monday.

You can almost tell, this early who the viable players will be in the 2010 election, just by how much money they raise.

Among the Republicans running for Senate they are: John Gregory Chachas, Sue Lowden, Danny Tarkanian,  and Sharron E. Angle.

Among the Republicans running for District 01 it is:  Craig O Lake Jr

Among the Democrats running for District 02 it could be either Jack Schofield or Ken McKenna. Neither has raised a dime to run on, however. Trigg and Reeves have both dropped out of contention.

Among the Republicans running for District 03 they are: Joe Heck, Robert Lelie Lauer, or John Guedry.

As time goes by in the months ahead the picture may change, depending upon who will attract more money from donors.

[Source: Center for Responsive Politics]

If everyone in Nevada gets “counted” in the 2010 Census it is almost certain that the state of Nevada will gain a new Congressional District. That will increase Nevada’s representation in the House of Representatives in Congress.

Nevada currently is represented by three representatives. Shelley Berkley (Democrat)—District 1; Dean Heller (Republican)—District 2; and Dina Titus (Democrat)—District 3.

A new District 4 will be formed at some point for Nevada. How will that be done? My prediction is that it will be formed in the rurals of Nevada. District 2, Heller’s District, is comprised primarily of Nevada’s rural counties. Clark County Nevada contains Districts 1 and 3. The remainder of the state is District 2. District 2 is huge.

District 2 has a heavy Republican lean and has been held by the Republican Party since its creation and votes Republican. John McCain, in the Presidential election of 2008, won District 2 by 88 votes out of 335,720 votes cast.

As of December 2009 the Nevada Secretary of State figures shows the entire state of Nevada has 1,140,068 “active” voters. (“Active” voters means those that actually vote rather than being simply registered.) Congressional District 1 has 293,074 active voters. District 2 has 424,675; and District 3 has 422,221.

The 2010 Census will count the population of people in the United States. Remember back in the formative years of the United States? Article I, Section 2 of the new Constitution required the people of the original 13 states be counted. The reason was to secure a count of the number of people living throughout the new country and where they lived. That needed to be determined so that the new republic of, for, and by the people could all be equitably represented in the new union. The count occurs every 10 years.

The idea behind our democracy is that people receive equal representation in our federal government. It is a Republic. So if, as I predict, Nevada’s population has grown enough the 2010 count will require a 4th Congressional District be formed. Adding a new District will mean redrawing of the Districts in Nevada so that the populations of each of the four Districts will have equal representation.

Rest assured that both political parties, Republican and Democrat, will be busily scurrying to see that the Districts will be populated by registered members of their respective parties. Why? Because the boundaries of the new districts will determine which party has the better chance of getting a member of their party elected in future elections.

How is that done? It is done by a political process called gerrymandering. What is gerrymandering, you ask?

Gerrymandering is a form of boundary delimitation (redistricting) in which electoral district or constituency boundaries are deliberately modified for electoral purposes, thereby producing a contorted or unusual shape.

Incumbents want any changes in their District to be sure to have a disproportionate number of voters in their political party. For example, Dean Heller, a Republican, will want his District to have a lot more registered Republicans than Democrats because it will tend to insure his re-election in the next voting cycle. Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus will want the same advantage on the Democrat side in their respective Districts for the same reason. Gerrymandering is a way to retain power for incumbents.

Gerrymandering has occurred in the United States since its beginning. In 1788, Patrick Henry and his Anti-Federalist allies were in control of the Virginia House of Delegates. They drew the boundaries of Virginia’s 5th congressional district in an attempt to keep James Madison out of the US House of Representatives. In 2003, the majority of Republicans in the Texas legislature redistricted the state, diluting the voting power of the heavily Democratic Travis County by parceling its residents out to more Republican districts.

In a decision (League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry) in 2006, the US Supreme Court upheld most of a Texas congressional map engineered in 2003 by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. The 7–2 decision allows state legislatures to redraw and gerrymander districts as often as they like (not just after the decennial census). Thus they may work to protect their political parties’ standing and number of seats, so long as they do not harm racial and ethnic minority groups. A 5–4 majority declared one Congressional district unconstitutional in the case because of harm to an ethnic minority. Some states’ citizens are considering shifting redistricting authority from politicians and giving it to non-partisan commissions.