Free Republic

John Ensign said a lot yesterday in a very small number of words: The Senate Republicans' top fundraiser Thursday said he is telling colleagues this is a bad year for members of his party to be up for election."I'm telling them if you have an 'R' in front of your name, you better run scared," said Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). [...]Mr. Ensign dismissed reports that contributions to the Republicans by disgruntled small donors are down this year. He maintained the party's contributor base is intact. The Republican Party long has boasted...

Mr. Ensign dismissed reports that contributions to the Republicans by disgruntled small donors are down this year. He maintained the party's contributor base is intact. The Republican Party long has boasted that it is the party of small donors while the Democratic Party has had to rely far more on wealthy contributors to finance election campaigns. He said the Republican Party never suffered a loss in small donors, only a shrinkage in the net amount of money raised - a decline that he said was not the result of small donors being disgusted with excessive Republican spending in Congress but...

One of the most inhospitable places in the country, Coyote Springs Valley is so barren that, until recently, its best use was thought to be as a weapons test range. Yet the valley — an hour northeast of Las Vegas — is on its way to becoming a real estate development of historic proportions, with as many as 159,000 homes, 16 golf courses and a full complement of stores and service facilities. At nearly 43,000 acres, Coyote Springs covers almost twice as much space as the next-largest development in a state famous for outsized building projects. Helping make Coyote Springs...

Nevada Sen. John Ensign says Democratic leaders who criticize the Iraq war are aiding the terrorists and hampering the war effort. "Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy - let me tell you, I say this without reservation - they have hurt our military, they have emboldened the enemy," Ensign told Republicans gathered for the state party convention on Saturday. "They're fighting for the freedom of speech, they're fighting for the right to protest, they're fighting for all those things. But when we are at war, especially the leaders in this country need to be very, very careful of...

At an informal press conference during the state Democratic Party convention a week ago, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid took questions with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the keynote speaker. Just behind Reid stood Jack Carter, son of former President Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party's best hope of unseating Nevada's other U.S. senator, a Republican. When a question about health care policy came up, Carter started to make a point, until he was cut off by Reid. "OK, Jack, we're doing the press conference, OK?" Reid said in a tone a parent would reserve for an insubordinate child. In...

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Democrat Jack Carter, son of former President Jimmy Carter, is trailing badly in his bid to oust U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., a Las Vegas Review-Journal poll shows. Sixty percent of the 625 voters surveyed last week said they favored Ensign in the contest, while 27 percent said they would vote for Carter. Thirteen percent were undecided. Republican operative Sig Rogich said Ensign is popular and it isn't likely that Carter can succeed in trying to tie the incumbent to controversies involving Republicans in Washington, D.C., and to President Bush's unpopularity. Brad Coker, managing partner...

Last week, Senator Arlen Specter declared the death of a conservative Republican Party. After the Senate approved an amendment he offered to bust the budget by $7 billion for more domestic spending, Specter rejoiced. The Pennsylvania Republican bragged to reporters, “The Republican Party is now principally moderate, if not liberal!” Specter’s comments may be truer than many Republicans would like to admit. But conservatives in the Senate have not disappeared. There are some left, like the junior Senator from Nevada, John Ensign. Ensign has always been a conservative. Elected to the House of Representatives as part of the fabled and...

Tue Feb 7, 1:35 AM ET Democrat Jack Carter, 58, the son of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, smiles at an event in Carson City, Nevada February 6, 2006, where he formally announced a run for the U.S. Senate in his first bid for elected office. (Adam Tanner/Reuters)CARSON CITY, Nevada (Reuters) - Democrat Jack Carter, 58, the son of former President Jimmy Carter formally announced a run for the U.S. Senate on Monday in his first bid for elected office. With his parents sharing a stage in the Nevada capital, Carter invoked many of the same themes his father used...

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) -- Democrat Jack Carter, the son of the former president, kicked off his U.S. Senate campaign Monday by calling for a return to "our American values." Carter, a 58-year-old investment consultant in Las Vegas, is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. John Ensign in his first bid for elected office. "The singular difference between the junior senator and me is he works for the Bush administration and I want to work for Nevada," Carter said at a union hall outside Las Vegas, accompanied by his parents, former President Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter. "Common sense, honesty, integrity and...

Senator Ensign in Car Accident Jan 30, 2006, 12:03 PM EST Senator John Ensign was transported to the hospital this morning following a car accident. The accident happened before 8 a.m. near Paradise and Sands. Police say the driver of a Jeep swerved into Ensign's lane hitting his vehicle head on. Ensign's vehicle was also rear ended by another car. Ensign was a passenger. His personal assistant was driving and also transported to the hospital. Both are said to not have life threatening injuries.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is in a strong position for re-election, according to the head of the Republican Senate campaign committee, who dismissed an expected challenge by Democrat Jack Carter by saying he hasn't proved he's a "legitimate candidate." Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, passed up a chance to comment on the possibility that Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman might challenge Ensign, saying she'd wait until he makes a move. Ensign "is a strong member of the United States Senate. He's very effective, I think standing strong," Dole said at a media briefing on...

Nevada's senators distanced themselves Tuesday from lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to charges of influence peddling while agreeing to give authorities information for a widening corruption probe of Congress. Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign said neither they nor their aides have been questioned nor contacted by Justice Department investigators digging into allegations that Abramoff steered campaign donations and expensive perks to lawmakers in exchange for official acts. Neither Senator Reid nor anyone on staff is under investigation or has received any notice" from prosecutors, Reid spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said. Reid said at a news conference in Carson City...

....The presidential son, who moved to Las Vegas in 2003 and campaigned for John F. Kerry last year, said he's about to embark on a ''listening tour" of Nevada to find out ''if my fellow citizens feel the same way about me as I feel about them." Carter, an equities investor who lives with his wife in fast-growing northwest Las Vegas, said he's been contemplating a bid against Ensign for a while. ... ....Ensign spokesman Jack Finn said the senator doesn't know much about Carter and couldn't comment on a possible opponent. Ensign told a local journalist that he didn't...

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) is calling on United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to step down over the growing U.N. oil-for-food scandal. Ensign joins Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who is heading an investigation into the oil-for-food program in Iraq, in stating Annan should resign. Ensign told KRNV in Reno, Nev., that while nothing indicates Annan has personally benefited from the scandal, the corruption that has been uncovered took place on his watch, and he should be held accountable. "Billions of dollars intended to aid the Iraqi people through the oil-for-food program were stolen while he was secretary-general," Ensign said....

WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) issued the following statement regarding John Kerry’s campaigning in Nevada today: "John Kerry has been in the Senate for a long time – long enough to vote for higher taxes at least 350 times. Kerry’s plan for $1.9 trillion in new government spending doesn’t add up and would mean higher taxes for all Americans. Kerry promises to roll back the President’s pro-growth policies that helped create more than 625,000 jobs over the past two months. "America needs strong and steady leadership, not uncertainty and opportunism. Days after addressing union members in Michigan and...

Nevada Senator John Ensign blasted Democrat Ted Kennedy for his "shameful" statements likening US soldiers to Saddam Hussein's torturous regime. The Nevada Republican was commenting on a statement credited to Senator Kennedy Tuesday. Kennedy is quoted as saying, "Shamefully, we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management: U.S. management." Ensign believes Kennedy crossed the line with his comments and called on Kennedy to retract them immediately. "To express disappointment or anger over what has occurred at Abu Ghraib prison is one thing. To put American servicemen and women in the same category as one of the most...

The following is the transcript of a radio spot Harry Reid ran during his election battle agains John Ensign in 1998. It insults gun owners and NRA members in particular. Now Harry is running for reelection, and claiming to be a friend of gun owners! This spot exposes how he really feels about us. ------ “Stand Up” Harry Reid Radio Spot :60 Comedienne: Thank You.  Thank You, Folks.  You know me, John Ensign’s worst nightmare. (Laughs) People ask me if I make up these Ensign quotes.  I tell them, I’m not that funny. (Laughs) Okay, before I begin, do we...

The spectacle of senators and House members questioning the president's motives in the decision to use force in Iraq stirred outrage in Washington. One senior senator declared that attacking the president while Americans are risking their lives in Iraq is "as close to a betrayal of the interests of the United States as I've ever witnessed in the United States Congress. It's unforgivable and reprehensible." The secretary of state called such criticism "very unseemly and unbecoming to members of Congress." The vice president declared: "We need national resolve and unity, not weakness and division, when we're . . . engaged...