Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2003 | 9:33 a.m.
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark today will become the third 2004 Democratic presidential candidate to make an official visit to Las Vegas during this election cycle, but don't expect to see him in public.
That's because the impetus for Clark's visit is a private fund-raiser tonight at AJ's Steak House at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Hotel President Kevin Kelley and Peter Morton, the hotel's chief executive officer, invited 100 guests who have each been asked to donate up to $2,000, for a total possible take of $200,000.
As far as Kelley can recall, the event for Clark is the first time the Hard Rock Hotel has hosted a presidential campaign fund-raiser.
"The Hard Rock Hotel has hosted all sorts of cool functions and this is one of them," Kelley said Tuesday. "We're very happy to be able to support his run for the presidency.
"There are a lot of people who will be attending the function to support the general. The questions they will ask him will range from gaming to Yucca Mountain to everything in between."
Clark, an Arkansas resident and retired four-star general who once commanded NATO, was the last to join a crowded Democratic field. Critics have complained that he has wavered on his views of the war with Iraq. He also has already had a campaign manager quit on him.
But Clark, who gained national attention as a commentator and military expert for CNN, has been at or near the top of many public opinion polls when compared with his fellow Democrats.
He was expected to fly into town late this afternoon from New Mexico, stay overnight and then fly to Detroit on Thursday, according to campaign spokesman Jamal Simmons. But Clark is not making any public appearances or granting media interviews.
"This is a quick in and out," Simmons said Tuesday. "He also hasn't been feeling well because he has a cold."
Simmons said one topic Clark is likely to discuss at the fund-raiser is his proposal to create civilian reserves from various occupational backgrounds to help respond to natural disasters and terrorism attacks. Clark's proposal, which includes five-year commitments, would cost about $100 million a year.
"He'll talk about that as part of his 'New American Patriotism' plan," Simmons said.
Las Vegas has long been considered a gold mine for presidential candidates seeking campaign contributions. But because Nevada is a relatively small state with a low-profile presidential caucus, it often gets snubbed when it comes to public appearances by candidates, at least early in the campaign.
Already this year Democratic presidential candidates Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina have visited Las Vegas but only for private fund-raisers with no public appearances.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, another leading Democratic contender, is expected to visit Southern Nevada by the end of the month.
Clark and other Democratic hopefuls who are aiming to replace Republican President Bush next year have been limiting most of their early public appearances to early battleground states. Those include Iowa, which has the nation's first caucus on Jan. 19, and New Hampshire, which will conduct the first primary on Jan. 27.
Nevada Democrats are holding their statewide caucuses on Feb. 14, a month earlier than they have been conducted during previous election years. Only 14 states are conducting their primaries or caucuses on earlier dates. But Nevada so far has received no national attention in the shaping of the Democratic presidential sweepstakes.
"It has much more to do with the timing than whether you have a caucus or a primary," professor Michael Bowers, chairman of the political science department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said.
"By the time you get to Nevada, you will have winnowed out the weaker candidates. People want to make sure they come out strong in the early primaries and caucuses. At this point Nevada is an afterthought, other than serving as a cash cow."
Simmons said the Clark campaign's decision to skip public appearances in Southern Nevada at this time had more to do with the candidate's tight schedule than anything else.
"Running for president is tough because you can only do so many things in a 24-hour day," Simmons said. "All of these things are scheduling issues."
Clark had originally been scheduled to deliver a speech at the Rio hotel this afternoon -- something that had been set up before he declared his candidacy for president. But that event was cancelled, along with other paid speeches he was to give around the country.
The speeches have been criticized by others as a possible way to circumvent federal campaign finance laws. Although the Clark campaign disagrees with that argument, a campaign spokesman said the general decided to play it safe by cancelling the speeches.
Adriana Martinez, chairwoman of the Nevada Democratic Party, said she was not disappointed that candidates such as Clark, Gephardt and Edwards have chosen not to make public campaign appearances in Southern Nevada.
"I know that this is a crucial time to raise funds to make their candidacies fitting in the public eye," Martinez said. "As time progresses I believe they will be making public appearances here. I'm just happy they're coming to Nevada."
With the exception of the Republican president primary in 1996, Nevada Democrats and Republicans have held presidential caucuses since 1980.
Caucus participants sit at tables by precinct to select delegates to their party's county convention. Delegates represent the candidates chosen by the precincts. County delegates are then chosen to attend the state party convention and state delegates are selected to participate in the national conventions.
Because caucuses normally attract the most loyal party activists, the winning candidates tend to represent the extremes. In Nevada, that included Republican television evangelist Pat Robertson winning in 1988 over future President George Bush and former California Gov. Jerry Brown beating future President Bill Clinton in 1992.
There have been attempts in recent years to have Nevada join other Western states to form an early super-primary aimed at giving this part of the country more clout in the choice of presidential nominees. But Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, chairwoman of the Assembly Elections, Procedures and Ethics Committee, said there has been little appetite among Nevada lawmakers to participate in a super-primary.
Giunchigliani said much of that resistance has to do with the fact that candidates would still concentrate on delegate-rich California and simply continue to ignore Nevada.
Bowers said, "The problem is everyone is already trying to move up their primaries and caucuses."
archive
