SUBMITTED RELEASE FROM NEVADA STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
By Phoebe Sweet
Las Vegas, NV – Once again the GOP is rooting for our economy to fail, betting against America and Nevada because it’s good for Republican politics.
“As you look to the beginning of 2010, I think unemployment in Nevada will spike even higher. I think this is bad for the country but good for Republican politics,” said one GOP Senate candidate last year.
And the rest of the GOP field, including Sue Lowden, Danny Tarkanian and Sharron Angle, are falling in line – cheering bad economic news and trumpeting jobless numbers, then disparaging good news when the economy grows or job losses ebb. They’ve been too busy talking about how they want our economy to stay down for as long as possible to even propose ways to fix it.
The latest example of their rhetoric came today, when GOP Senate candidate Sue Lowden trumpeted “more bad news… more Nevadans lose jobs,” in a campaign release. But last summer, Lowden laid out her campaign strategy, saying it would help her get elected if unemployment and foreclosures stayed high.
“Who knows what our unemployment rate will be at that (point), our foreclosure rate, our bankruptcy rates? I don’t see it getting any better, and I think that I would absolutely bring that home,” Lowden said.
But Lowden’s actually done her part to help keep unemployment high. The casino boss has a history of cutting jobs while giving her CEO husband hefty bonuses. It’s clear she’s willing to put both her own bottom line and partisan politics ahead of Nevada workers.
As the Lowdens raked in nearly a million dollars a year – including a $200,000 bonus – they laid off workers from both their Laughlin casino and ended their employee 401(k) matching program. The story was the same in 2004, when they shut down the Wet ‘n Wild in Las Vegas and Dukes Casino in Sparks, laying off dozens of workers while giving Lowden’s CEO husband a $200,000 bonus. Lowden even proved she’s willing to break the law to save a few dollars when she illegally denied employees health care at the Santa Fe.
Meanwhile, Sen. Harry Reid and Congresswomen Dina Titus and Shelley Berkley have done the hard work it took to bring our economy back from the brink, and continue to fight every day for America’s economy and jobs for Nevadans.
“It’s unclear why this gaggle of Republican Senate candidates is so quick to wish our economy would fail and to discount any progress we’ve made,” said Phoebe Sweet, communications director for the Nevada State Democratic Party. “I wonder whether the families and small businesses struggling through this economic downturn – families and small businesses Sen. Reid is working so hard to help with meaningful jobs legislation – would like the brand of Republican politics that roots for America, its families and its economy to fail. As usual, Republicans like Lowden put their own best interests first and think of ordinary Nevadans second.”
