Las Vegas union may be a player in the 2008 race

[Omaha Steve]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2003365316_nevada08.html

Las Vegas union may be a player in the 2008 race

By Scott Gold

Los Angeles Times

LAS VEGAS — They have poured in from across the United States, from Mexico, Russia, Ethiopia. They change sheets in hotels, flip pancakes for 3 a.m. buffets and carry highballs to the blackjack tables. To visitors, they are quickly forgotten.

Suddenly, many political analysts think, these faceless low-wage workers are about to play a pivotal role in selecting the next Democratic nominee for president. The 60,000 maids, waiters and waitresses, cooks and other service workers are members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 — in Nevada, a state where organized labor still has clout — and likely presidential candidates already are courting them.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC), looking for more diverse voices in choosing the party's next presidential nominee, recently bumped Nevada to the front of its 2008 election calendar; its caucus is scheduled for Jan. 19, between the first contest, in Iowa, and New Hampshire's primary.


N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson

To political oddsmakers, there are a number of potential beneficiaries, including the state Democratic Party; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who lobbied for the change; and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a potential presidential candidate.

Unlike primaries, which typically involve large numbers of voters, caucuses often involve a small slice of the electorate — usually party activists — so much so that they have been criticized as ineffective gauges of public sentiment.

FULL story at link above.

[Union Thug]

1. kick!

[theboss]

2. Every election, we are promised that Las Vegas wil turn Nevada "blue"

And every election, the Republicans win it by 5 to 10 points.

I'm in "show me" mode on this one.