NV-02: Why I’m Attending Netroots Nation

[Cross-posted at Daily Kos, Swing State Project, Reno & Its Discontents]

http://www.jillderby.com

I’m Jill Derby, Democratic Candidate for Congress in Nevada’s Second Congressional District.  Many of you know me from 2006 when I ran for this seat against Republican Dean Heller.  Well, I’m back.  And I’m running to change the way business is done in Washington.

When Heller went to Washington after our very close race, many here in Nevada hoped that he would be an independent, moderate voice for Nevada.  Dean Heller has let them down.  Heller has stood as a rubber stamp for the Bush Administration from his very first day in the House, voting over 92% of the time with the party.  That record, and the continued decline of our great nation has me back in this race.

More below the fold…

The growth of the Netroots community has been remarkable over the last half-decade.  You have renewed and revitalized progressive discourse in America using a new medium, playing a powerful and ever-growing role in the success of Democratic candidates across the country.  I am excited to have the opportunity to meet many of you in person this weekend at Netroots Nation in Austin, where I will be on Friday’s “Future Leaders” panel with Jim Himes (CT-04), Dan Seals (IL-10) and Annette Taddeo (FL-18), and later at the Netroots Candidates Celebration.  But before we get a chance to meet in person, I wanted to tell you a bit more about myself and my race.

I am not a career politician.  I am an activist like many of you, who got my start in politics fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s.  Since then I have stayed active, serving on Nevada’s Board of Regents, and later as Chair of the Nevada Democratic Party.

I have always taken a strong stand against the Iraq War.  I opposed it from Day 1.  When my good friend Darcy Burner called me to about a plan she was putting together to find a comprehensive solution to the Iraq War and the problems it had created, I was thrilled to sign on as one of its first supporters.   The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq is committed to bringing our troops home from Iraq and repairing the damage done to our democracy by eight years of Republican mismanagement.

I stand together with many members of the Netroots community in supporting our civil rights and condemning the recent passage of the FISA amendments granting retroactive immunity to the telecom industry.  Here in Nevada, we take our civil liberties very seriously.  This abdication of the constitution by the Bush Administration, supported by my right-wing opponent Dean Heller, has let big telecom off the hook.  This was wrong, plain and simple.

I stand together with members of the Netroots in supporting the working and middle classes of America.  Nevada has the highest rate of home foreclosures per capita in the United States.  We have a high rate of bankruptcy as well.  I stand with my friends in organized labor in supporting a living wage, healthcare for all Americans, secure retirement benefits, and the right to collective bargaining.  I am appalled by the assault on middle America, with gas prices rising and bankruptcy protections eroded at the same time that oil companies make record profits and Republicans–including my opponent–refuse to make critical investments in energy independence and renewables.

Since November of 2006, the Republican registration advantage in this district has been cut by a remarkable 40%, from 48,000 to 29,000.  This 19,000 voter Democratic shift is more than 50% greater than Heller’s margin of victory in 2006.

I just outraised my opponent by over nearly 30% this quarter and am quickly gaining ground on him as his far right voting record becomes better known throughout the district.

We have a real race on our hands in this R+8 district and I am thrilled to have a chance to earn the support of the Nevada Netroots and those of you across the nation.  I look forward to meeting many of you this weekend in Austin.  And I look forward to working together in the coming months to set America back on track.  

www.jillderby.com