GOP Leading Contender asks for “Robust” Reid to meet with recently unemployed families to ask if they are “really good”

Today, Nevada businesswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Sue Lowden responded to Harry “Robust” Reid’s remarks following the latest figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor surrounding unemployment in February. On the Senate floor this morning, “Robust” Reid said the following, “Today is a big day in America, only 36,000 people lost their jobs today in America, which is really good.” (Click on the link to hear “Robust” Reid praise job loss: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC211h9AY-4)

Sue Lowden issued the following statement after hearing the disappointing figures and Harry Reid comments:

“It is indefensible that Harry Reid comes out and praises that job loss totaling more than a jam-packed Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas and Lawlor Events Center in Reno is ‘really good’. There are more than 36,000 hardworking families in Nevada and the rest of the nation last month who had sleepless nights trying to identify a way to get back the paycheck they just lost. Why doesn’t Harry Reid go to some of those families on this ‘big day’ and ask them if they are feeling ‘really good’?”, said Lowden.

Lowden added, “Harry Reid recently stated that Nevada was facing ‘robust growth’. Today, he says that job loss of more than 36,000 is ‘really good’. What’s next? Smiling with his DC allies on the steps of the Capitol and trying to convince us that trillion-dollar health care and a second stimulus will help us get out of debt?”

A year ago, Harry Reid promised that his pork-laden stimulus bill would create 4 million jobs – but instead 3.3 million Americans have lost their jobs since. Harry Reid believes that big government is better capable of creating jobs than ordinary Nevadans. He believes that we are not to be trusted with our own money, so he takes more of it to spend on wasteful, ineffective government programs and taxpayer-funded bribes to buy votes from fellow senators. It is shameful that out-of-touch “Robust Reid” has used his position of power to waste our precious tax dollars in such a way.

BACKGROUND ON “ROBUST GROWTH”:

Despite record unemployment, record home foreclosures and record bankruptcies, Harry Reid recently described Nevada’s economy as facing “robust growth.” Sue Lowden responded with the following web ad: http://www.suelowden.com/index.php/robust-economy/

BACKGROUND ON POLL NUMBERS:

The latest poll today — conducted by Rasmussen Report — shows Sue Lowden beating Harry Reid by a margin of 51 to 38.

The poll from Rasmussen can be found here: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/nevada/election_2010_nevada_senate

The latest poll – published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and conducted by Mason-Dixon – shows Sue Lowden beating Harry Reid by a margin of 52 to 39, and soundly defeating her leading primary opponent, Danny Tarkanian, by an 18-point margin – 47 to 29 percent. The poll shows Sharron Angle earning 8 percent of the Republican vote and John Chachas shows at 1 percent.

The story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the full results of the poll can be found here: http://www.lvrj.com/news/lowden-leads-gop-senate-field-85760137.html

UP NEXT: Nevada unemployment figures expected to be released on Monday.

Today, at 2 PM PST, Nevada businesswoman and former state senator Sue Lowden will officially file for the U.S. Senate with the Secretary of State’s office in Carson City.

Yesterday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal published its latest poll showing Lowden to be leading by double digits in both the Republican primary, as well as the general election against Harry Reid.

See poll results here: http://www.lvrj.com/news/lowden-leads-gop-senate-field-85760137.html

Harry Reid’s analysis that Nevada’s economy is facing “robust growth” continues to show that he just doesn’t get it; Declining poll numbers prove it

(Las Vegas, NV) — Today, Nevada businesswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Sue Lowden responded to a poll published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada’s largest newspaper, which shows her increasing her lead to double digits on her Republican primary opponents, as well as on Harry Reid.

The poll – conducted by Mason-Dixon – shows Sue Lowden beating Harry Reid by a margin of 52 to 39, and soundly defeating her leading primary opponent, Danny Tarkanian, by an 18-point margin – 47 to 29 percent. The poll shows Sharron Angle earning 8 percent of the Republican vote and John Chachas shows at 1 percent.

“Today marks 100 days until the Primary Election in Nevada and I am thrilled that so many volunteers and voters continue to join our campaign and put their support behind me,” Lowden stated. “Republican primary voters are rejecting the negative, misleading campaign that others have directed against me and they are responding well to my solutions-based, positive campaign. Hardworking voters are also making it clear that after three decades of Harry Reid in Washington, it is time to make the necessary change for a better Nevada.

“While our campaign is humbled by these numbers, we are still running as the underdog. We will keep working hard to form a winning, grassroots campaign – based on real solutions that will help create needed jobs, keep people in their homes, help them afford health care and be able to retire with dignity.”

The story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the full results of the poll can be found here: http://www.lvrj.com/news/lowden-leads-gop-senate-field-85760137.html

BACKGROUND:

Sue Lowden officially launched her campaign for U.S. Senate on October 1, 2009. As a former Nevada State Senator and conservative businesswoman, Sue is running for the Republican nomination against a number of other candidates.

Last month, Lowden proved her fundraising strength when she reported raising more money in her first full quarter in the campaign than Danny Tarkanian had raised in his first two quarters combined. Further, more than 50 percent of Lowden’s financial support came from Nevada donors, more than any other major candidate.

In her solutions-based campaign, Sue Lowden has offered a number of policy positions on her web page describing how we can begin creating jobs again in Nevada and throughout America, as well as how we can lessen the cost of health insurance so more Nevadans can afford to pay needed coverage. Further, Lowden has called for immediate, across-the-board spending cuts to reduce our deficit, and support for efforts to repay taxpayers the unspent TARP money as well as unspent federal stimulus dollars.

Despite record unemployment, record home foreclosures and record bankruptcies, Harry Reid recently described Nevada’s economy as facing “robust growth.” Sue Lowden responded with the following web ad: http://www.suelowden.com/index.php/robust-economy/

(Las Vegas, NV) — Today, Nevada businesswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Sue Lowden responded to yet another desperate attack from Harry Reid. On a day after he spent another $15 BILLION of our taxpayer money on the assumption that Washington is better at job creation than private citizens, Harry Reid attacked Sue Lowden for being an executive at a company that has lost jobs and revenue during the recession.

Lowden responded with the following statement:

“Harry Reid has been living off the Nevada taxpayer his entire adult life, gladly accepting generous pay raises and writing government-run health care bills that he won’t even enroll in himself. I am not sure he has ever held a private sector job, nor has he ever created one. He has no idea what it’s like to meet a payroll – because hardworking Nevada taxpayers provide his payroll. He has spent a career in Washington raising our taxes, increasing the size of an already bloated government and recklessly saddling our kids and grandkids with trillions of dollars of debt.

“My husband and I are proud to have created thousands of private sector jobs in Nevada’s leading economic industry. We have provided health care and retirement benefits. In our recent SEC filing, we requested and received an extension. We are hopeful that the rest of Nevada’s job providers and workers can survive Harry Reid’s careless tax-and-spend policies until I defeat him this November.”

BACKGROUND:

• Paul Lowden has not received a salary increase since 1996, and is known to have previously declined significant stock option awards.
• Sue Lowden is not on the Compensation Committee for Archon Corporation.
• Since Harry Reid passed his taxpayer-funded $800 BILLION stimulus bill (which was supposed to create jobs), unemployment in Nevada has increased by 33 percent.
• Due to Harry Reid’s failed policies, there are currently more than 178,000 Nevadans who are unemployed.
• Since January 2009, there have been over 30,000 bankruptcies in Nevada alone.
• Since Harry Reid became the Senate Majority Leader, the number of unemployed Nevadans has TRIPLED – with unemployment rising from 4.4 percent to 13 percent! Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Harry Reid, just two weeks ago, said Nevada’s economy is experiencing “robust growth”.
• The Lowdens are longtime, well-known and respected Nevada philanthropists, donating their time and money to numerous charitable organizations and causes.

U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) admits that Harry Reid’s Congress has not created a single private sector job in the last six months.

(Las Vegas, NV) — Today, Nevada businesswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Sue Lowden called on Harry Reid to specifically explain to Nevada’s nearly 200,000 unemployed or underemployed residents just what he meant by saying that our economy is experiencing “robust growth”. Later this week, President Barack Obama plans to come to Nevada to attend a political dog-and-pony show in front of the media and voters, trying to convince struggling Nevada families that higher taxes and trillions of dollars of deficit spending is the path to economic strength and job creation.

“After nearly three decades in Washington, it is clear just how far out of touch Harry Reid has become with reality here in Nevada,” stated Sue Lowden. “While our struggling families face record unemployment, record home foreclosures, record personal and business bankruptcies and record revenue declines, Harry Reid flies in from Washington to tell us all is well. It’s embarrassing how out-of-touch he has become, and it’s an insult to the hardworking Nevada families, retirees and job providers he has turned his back on.

“How does Harry Reid fly back to Nevada from Washington where he has gone on a massive deficit spending spree, and claim that we are experiencing ‘robust growth’ in our economy?” Lowden asks. “All he has done is make the recession worse. Harry Reid claiming that our economy is experiencing ‘robust growth’ would be laughable if the consequences of his failed policies weren’t so devastating to tens of thousands of Nevada families.”

Sue Lowden referenced comments Harry Reid made in attacking former Republican presidential candidate and current U.S. Senator John McCain when he stated in September of 2008 that “the fundamentals of the economy are strong.” At that time, Harry Reid rushed to the floor of the U.S. Senate and said:

“For whom are the fundamentals of our economy strong? Not for the 606,000 Americans who have lost their jobs this year alone. Not for the commuters and truckers who are sending more and more of their hard-earned dollars to pay for fuel. Not for all those struggling to make one pay check last until the next, with record home heating prices looming in the coming winter months. Not for cities and towns that have been forced to cut back on police, schools and firefighters because their tax base is shrinking. And certainly not for the millions of families who have or may soon lose their homes, or for the tens of millions who are seeing their home equity plummet.”

Further, in an interview with CBS’s “Early Show”, retiring U.S. Senator Evan Bayh, a Democratic colleague of Harry Reid, admitted to the massive failure of Reid’s spending agenda in Congress. He was discussing his intention to enter the private sector after retiring when he said:

“… if I could create one job in the private sector by helping to grow a business, that would be one more than Congress has created in the last six months.”

BACKGROUND:

Comments made by U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN):
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/02/16/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6212208.shtml

Harry Reid speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate attacking John McCain in September of 2008: http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=303035&

Official unemployment numbers for Nevada in September 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Labor: http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=LASST32000003

• Last week, Harry Reid claimed to be “second to none” in his work on behalf of Nevada’s leading economic industry. According to his campaign web page, he also claims to be basking in the glow the “robust growth” in our economy (http://www.harryreid.com/ee/index.php/blog/entry/lowden_should_look_in_the_mirror_before_pointing_fingers_on_tourism_industr/)
• The Ritz-Carlton in Lake Las Vegas filed bankruptcy – announcing hundreds of Nevadans will be losing their jobs – though the Ritz-Carlton Harry Reid lives in in Washington, DC, appears to be just fine (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/08/ritz-carlton-lake-las-vegas/)
• The Nevada Gaming Control Board announced the sharpest decline in gaming revenues to the state in history (http://www.lvrj.com/news/gaming-revenues-fall-by-biggest-percentage-ever-84117117.html)
• Reno-based IGT – the largest private employer in northern Nevada – announced it was closing down a major portion of its global operations due to the continued impacts of the recession (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/11/gaming-supply-company-igt-close-operations-japan/)
• Washoe County reports the lowest gaming revenue collections in two decades (http://www.rgj.com/article/20100212/BIZ/2120455/1071/Washoe-gaming-win-lowest-in-2-decades)
• The Station Casino Inc. subsidiary that invested in and manages Green Valley Ranch resort in Henderson, NV, filed for bankruptcy protection (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/11/green-valley-ranch-manager-files-bankruptcy/ )
• Harry Reid single-handedly kills a bipartisan jobs bill in the Senate (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32850.html)
• Casino Montelago at Lake Las Vegas announced it will permanently close its doors on March 14 (http://www.mynews3.com/story.php?id=11069&n=5037)

Again, since the Harry Reid attack on John McCain in September of 2008, Nevada’s unemployment has almost doubled. Since Harry Reid became the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, unemployment in Nevada has skyrocketed by nearly 300 percent!

Lake Las Vegas Ritz-Carlton vs. Harry Reid’s Ritz-Carlton Home In Washington, DC

(Las Vegas, NV) – Today, Nevada businesswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Sue Lowden issued the following statements in response to Harry Reid’s claim that he is “second to none” when it comes to defending and promoting Nevada’s tourism industry and creating jobs. This comes less than 48 hours after The Ritz-Carlton of Lake Las Vegas announced that they will be closing their doors on May 2nd, thus adding to the existing record job loss Nevada has endured in the past year.

Click here to listen to Harry Reid’s state he is “second to none” when it comes to defending and promoting Nevada’s tourism industry and creating jobs.

What Harry Reid Doesn’t Want Voters To Know As He Seeks Another 6-Year Term In The U.S. Senate:

• In January 2007, when “the most powerful senator in Nevada history” (according to his own ads) became the Senate Majority Leader, unemployment in Nevada was 4.5 percent.
• In January 2010, unemployment had skyrocketed more than 300 percent – to 13 percent in Nevada.
• As Nevada’s unemployment is one of the highest in the country, Harry Reid has forced Nevada taxpayers to subsidize sweetheart bribes for other states to buy off votes of fellow senators.

In addition to our high unemployment figures, the U.S. Department of Labor recently published underemployment figures in Nevada that currently stand at 19%.

Below is a statement by Sue Lowden regarding the latest claim by Harry Reid and his desperate political machine.

“I’ve been a job creator for more than twenty years, I know what it takes to create jobs in the private sector. Harry Reid’s campaign says that action speaks louder than words, so let’s examine Harry’s ‘actions’ since becoming the Senate Majority Leader. Record deficits. Record unemployment. Record foreclosures (with no relief). And, job creation for federally-funded projects in states like California and Florida. What has Harry Reid really done?”

“Isn’t it interesting how Harry Reid and his political machine continue trying to vaporize me, when he had the chance to step up and criticize those who were critical of Nevada’s tourism and convention industry one year ago? Harry Reid’s lack of actions cost the tourism industry more than $130 million dollars and further stretched Nevada’s unemployment numbers to record levels. The Las Vegas Strip is littered with unfinished projects, City Center opened but it cost MGM/Mirage to lay off 9,000 people – jobs even their CEO said aren’t coming back … and now, hundreds more will be out of work with the closing of the Ritz-Carlton.”

“There is one unemployment fact that Nevadans will be smiling about in 2010, the headlines that will read ‘HARRY GETS LAID OFF’ in November.”

PLEASE NOTE: At last check, Harry Reid’s residence at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington D.C. is financially sound.

For a photo tour, go here: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/WashingtonDC/Default.htm

• Harry Reid claims to be “second to none” in his work on behalf of Nevada’s leading economic industry. According to his campaign web page, he also claims to be basking in the glow of “positive news on the economy’s robust growth” (Harry Reid attacks Sue on his campaign website)

• The Ritz-Carlton in Lake Las Vegas files bankruptcy – announcing hundreds of Nevadans will be losing their jobs (The Las Vegas Sun news story)

• The Nevada Gaming Control Board announced the sharpest decline in gaming revenues to the state in history (The Las Vegas Review Journal’s news story)

• Reno-based IGT – the largest private employer in northern Nevada – announced it was closing down a major portion of its global operations due to the continued impacts of the recession (The Las Vegas Sun’s news story)

• Washoe County reports the lowest gaming revenue collections in two decades (The Reno Gazette-Journal news story)

• The Station Casino Inc. subsidiary that invested in and manages Green Valley Ranch resort in Henderson, NV, filed for bankruptcy protection (The Las Vegas Sun news story)

• Harry Reid single-handedly kills a bipartisan jobs bill in the Senate (The Politico news story)

That’s quite a week for a career politician in Washington. What would Nevada do without him?

CLAIMS THIS WEEK THAT NEVADA’S ECONOMY IS FACING “ROBUST GROWTH” AS HE KILLS JOBS BILL

(Virginia City, NV) — Today, while campaigning in Reno, Virginia City and Hawthorne, Nevada businesswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Sue Lowden commented on a week that was chalk full of political grandstanding by Harry Reid, claiming credit for Nevada’s “robust growth” in our economy. (By the way, Nevada’s unemployment stands at 13 percent, a nearly 300 percent increase since Harry Reid became Senate Majority Leader, and underemployment is at approximately 20 percent. We also have record home foreclosures, personal and business bankruptcies.)

As Harry Reid spent the week patting himself on the back for what he sees as our robust economic growth, he both killed a bipartisan jobs bill in the U.S. Senate and attacked Sue Lowden’s economic plan for job creation because it actually calls for immediate and permanent tax relief so that Nevadans could keep more of their hard-earned money. Lowden’s plan leaves our hard-earned money here in Nevada, rather than sending it to Washington – where Harry Reid uses it to bribe senators for votes on unpopular, unconstitutional legislation, adding trillions of dollars to our national debt.

“Harry Reid sure picked an interesting week to pat himself on the back. Only a career politician in Washington can claim to be ‘second to none’ in his advocacy for our leading economic industry – tourism – on a week of alarming headlines of job losses, bankruptcies and sharply-declining revenues. I find his desperate claims about our economy’s so-called ‘robust growth’ to be startling, and, quite frankly, embarrassing.

“Through all the political grandstanding and slick ads, Harry Reid’s reckless, ineffective and bankrupting policies are making matters worse for all Nevadans. Threats of yet higher taxes and trillions of dollars of more debt for our kids and grandkids cost Harry Reid his political career. Worse than that, it will cost all Nevada families for generations to come. We cannot afford Harry Reid six more months – let alone six more years.”

IS HARRY REID OUT-OF-TOUCH? A SPECIAL WASHINGTON WHITE-WASH WEEK IN REVIEW:

• Harry Reid claims to be “second to none” in his work on behalf of Nevada’s leading economic industry. According to his campaign web page, he also claims to be basking in the glow of “positive news on the economy’s robust growth” (http://www.harryreid.com/ee/index.php/blog/entry/lowden_should_look_in_the_mirror_before_pointing_fingers_on_tourism_industr/)

• The Ritz-Carlton in Lake Las Vegas files bankruptcy – announcing hundreds of Nevadans will be losing their jobs (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/08/ritz-carlton-lake-las-vegas/)

• The Nevada Gaming Control Board announced the sharpest decline in gaming revenues to the state in history (http://www.lvrj.com/news/gaming-revenues-fall-by-biggest-percentage-ever-84117117.html)

• Reno-based IGT – the largest private employer in northern Nevada – announced it was closing down a major portion of its global operations due to the continued impacts of the recession (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/11/gaming-supply-company-igt-close-operations-japan/)

• Washoe County reports the lowest gaming revenue collections in two decades (http://www.rgj.com/article/20100212/BIZ/2120455/1071/Washoe-gaming-win-lowest-in-2-decades)

• The Station Casino Inc. subsidiary that invested in and manages Green Valley Ranch resort in Henderson, NV, filed for bankruptcy protection (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/11/green-valley-ranch-manager-files-bankruptcy/)

• Harry Reid single-handedly kills a bipartisan jobs bill in the Senate (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32850.html)

That’s quite a week for a career politician in Washington. What would Nevada do without him?

Sue Lowden Celebrates President Reagan's Birthday

Sue Lowden greets volunteers in her Reno office today with a salute to President Ronald Reagan’s birthday today, February 6th. Happy Birthday, President Reagan – from Team Lowden!