Post-debate, presidential candidates help Clark County Dems raise cash

More than 2,000 Democrats helped raise an estimated $300,000 for Clark County Democrats at a post-debate Jefferson-Jackson dinner at the Paris Hotel that attracted eight Democratic presidential candidates.

Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean took advantage of the partisan audience – still pumped with excitement from the nationally-televised presidential debate at UNLV – to take a few shots at the Republican field for their lack of diversity.

“When you look at our candidates,” said Dean. “We look like America. The Republicans look like America in the 1950s. They are the party that is looking backwards; we’re the party that is looking forwards. And when they open their mouths, they sound like they’re from the 1850s.”

Dean’s comments came after Clark County Democratic Chairman John Hunt presented Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen with the party’s “Rising Star” award. Kihuen, who will formally endorse Hillary Clinton for President at a rally at his old High School on Saturday, is considered especially important to the future of the Nevada Democratic Party because of his status as one of the only Hispanic and the first-ever immigrant elected official in the state.

Each candidate spoke for several minutes and played for votes with alternating humor and calls to action.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Richardson apologized that Nevada-specific issues were not addressed more fully at the debate, but assured the crowd that as president, these issues would be at the forefront. “I’m the westerner in the race,” said Richardson. “I’d appreciate your support. I’d be honored by it. I’m one of you.

Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich used the venue to contrast his opposition to the proposed Yucca Mtn. nuclear waste site with the other candidates.’ “If some of these are nominated, we’ll have to change our mascot to a donkey that glows in the dark,” said Kucinich

“You know a year from now, we won’t have Bush and Cheney to kick around anymore,” said former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards to raucous cheers. “And that’ll be a great day for America.” Edwards trumpeted his record as a trial lawyer to the friendly crowd, saying that his experiences standing against corporate lawyers are what the country needs in the next president.

And in a perhaps unintended homage to the Academy Awards, music began playing before Edwards finished speaking, and he quickly concluded his remarks.

Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel used his allotted time to accuse CNN of “corporate censorship” for his exclusion from the UNLV debate and to ask why, after Democratic successes in the 2006 election, the Iraq War continues.

“Why don’t these candidates, instead of piling on Hillary, pile on the Democrats in Congress for not ending the war?” Gravel asked to applause. “This isn’t the party that I bought into years ago. Bill and Hillary Clinton and the DLC hijacked the party.”

Gravel was also hurried offstage by “wrap it up” music, which actually drowned out most of his conclusion.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, who has closed his Nevada campaign office, joked about the format of the night’s debate, saying “I think my seven minutes here are twice what I got on CNN tonight.” He argued that his record of successfully reaching across the partisan aisle, most notably with the Family Medical Leave Act makes him the best candidate for the presidency/

Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware said that “this election is not about experience. It’s not about change. It’s about action.” Biden discussed his plan for ending the war in Iraq, saying that he has already corralled 75 votes in the U.S. Senate for his Iraq decentralization plan. Biden drew scattered applause when he explained his vote in favor of continuing to fund the war, saying that it was a vote for mine-resistant vehicles, not a vote for war.

Barack Obama’s supporters lined the walls of the dinner and cheered and applauded as the Senator from Illinois took the stage. Obama told the crowd that he had good news for them.

“When you go in the voting booth next year, the name George W. Bush will not be on the ballot,” said Obama. He drew laughs by referring to a recent genealogical study that showed him with an unexpected family connection. “The name of my cousin, Dick Cheney, will not be on the ballot. We’ve been trying to keep that secret for a while. Everybody’s got a black sheep in the family."

Obama exhibited his considerable public-speaking prowess at the dinner, ending with a crescendo of punctuated statements of what America should be that brought people to their feet and drew the loudest cheers of the night to that point.

And then Clinton took the stage.

“What a great night to be a Democrat in Nevada!” Clinton greeted the crowd.

Flexing their organizational strength, Clinton’s campaign had distributed yellow and green “Turn Up The Heat” signs and these filled the room, providing a rally cry for a series of rhetorical questions Clinton asked the crowd.

“When the Republicans try to stamp out unions and civil rights, what are we going to do?” Clinton asked.

“Turn up the heat!”

Clinton concluded to a standing ovation from the crowd of eager Democrats, who then filed out of the ballroom to be greeted by dozens of Obama volunteers filling the hotel hallway and shouting their own campaign slogan.

“Fired up! Ready to go!” the Obama supporters cried, mildly alarming at least a few of the older attendees with their exuberance. Although impressive in their energy and numbers, the display seemed slightly out of place, more fitting for a college pep rally than a political fundraiser, even if it was a Democratic one.

According to Hunt, the dinner raised more than $300,000 for the Clark County Democratic Party, a number which he hopes to at least match next year. He’ll have help. As the candidates left the stage, Hunt solicited a promise from each that, if nominated, they will return and address the dinner again next November.

While the candidates may have had only seven minutes to speak, it seems that Nevada may be on the national political stage to stay.