Fellow conservatives, it is time to issue a “Conservative Call to Arms” in Nevada.  It is still three months away, but the Nevada Republican primary is just as important as the primary in Florida.  It’s time for conservatives across America to pay close attention to the differences in this important race.

In Nevada, I am running against the establishment Republican candidate Sue Lowden.  Sue Lowden is one of Harry Reid’s earliest supporters and campaign contributors.  Even during this primary she still compares Harry Reid to Ronald Reagan – calling Harry Reid an early “Reagan Democrat.”

But her defense of Harry Reid doesn’t stop there.  In January, Sue Lowden stunned Republicans when she stated that she would have joined Harry Reid in voting for the Wall Street bailouts given the “panic” at the time.  Her explanation is that she was just agreeing with Senators like John McCain, but she doesn’t seem to understand that those taxpayer-funded bailouts launched the bailout mentality that seeks to socialize entire American industries including health care.

Not long after her bailout defense, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that as a Nevada State Senator, Sue Lowden voted for numerous tax and fee increases, including Nevada’s infamous ‘Job-killer Tax’ that taxed Nevada’s businesses $100 per year for every job they create.  Instead of admitting it was the wrong vote, today she defends this vote as “fairness” since her vote also ensured that small businesses would be included under the tax.  I ask, what is “fair” about taxing job creation under any circumstances?

On the issue of Life, the Las Vegas Sun reported in December that Sue Lowden was originally a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade, going so far as to support removing the pro-life plank from our National Republican platform in 1996.  Now, of course, she claims a change of heart.

Sue Lowden says she’s pro-Second Amendment, even though she supported Harry Reid’s election and first Senate term with three separate $1000 campaign contributions – while he voted for Justices Breyer, Souter and Ginsburg – thus providing three of the four “no” votes on the historic gun rights decisionDC v. Heller.  That first term, Harry Reid also voted against Justice Thomas, and more recently against Justices Alito and Roberts – taken together, he opposed three key votes in the Heller majority.  My guess is that very few would cast those same anti-Constitutionalist confirmation votes while calling themselves “Second Amendment supporters.”’

Sue Lowden isn’t just one of Harry Reid’s earliest supporters. On the issues, she is aligned with Harry Reid on the Wall Street bailouts and tax increases. Like Harry Reid, she has also argued that Nevada needs more pork, not less. Sue Lowden has financially supported Harry Reid and his anti-Constitutionalist judicial votes, and she sought to remove the abortion plank from the Republican platform. Voters in Nevada are starting to understand why the Nevada Republican primary is as important as the general election.

Sue Lowden’s one main asset isn’t on the issues – it is access to campaign cash.  As Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, it was Harry Reid who provided the unique privilege of a Nevada gaming license, and she is using the wealth she has accumulated since to try to buy this race with an early barrage of television advertisements.  She refuses to debate for the benefit of voters – a true measure of establishment candidate arrogance.  This is troubling.

What is most troubling, however, is the idea that we might replace Harry Reid with one of his earliest supporters or any defender of the Wall Street bailouts for that matter.  And that is why I am issuing this conservative “call to arms.”

To be fair, there is another true conservative in this race, and I have great regard for the passion and intensity of Sharron Angle.  If I weren’t running, she would have my support.    But I am running the strongest conservative campaign, and I am resoundingly beating Harry Reid in every poll taken – some by double-digits.  I am clearly conservatives’ best chance to make sure that neither Harry Reid – nor any other defender of the bailouts – will represent Nevada in the U.S. Senate.

It is early, and there is plenty of time to make sure that a real conservative beats Harry Reid in Nevada.  So let’s make clear the differences.

Unlike Sue Lowden, I oppose all bailouts, regardless of any so-called “panic.”  I am the one candidate who understands that this administration will use crises at every turn for ideological gain.

On fiscal matters such as taxes, I have signed the no-tax pledge, and unlike Sue Lowden, who broke it repeatedly as a State Senator, I will honor it under all pressures from my own party, whose record on fiscal issues is in urgent need of rehabilitation.  On pork, I support a complete ban on earmarks, while Sue Lowden voted for pork as a State Senator, argues for more pork, and said she will only support a ban if all other Senators agree.

On Life, I have always supported the inalienable human rights of the unborn, and I believe that plank is the heart of our party platform.  It is a line in the sand – its own ‘call to arms’ that we are a party with principles, beginning with that most basic of principles – protection of innocent life.

Furthermore, I understand and have written about the imperative to reject judges who oppose our Second Amendment rights to own, possess and to defend ourselves with firearms.   The fact is that the government doesn’t grant us those freedoms.   The right of the people to defend their Life and Liberty against aggression and tyranny is a God-given right – which they may defend at the point of a gun, if necessary.  No exceptions.

Like many of you, I am disappointed in our Republican party for losing its way.  However, I stay in this party because I know in the end the party is you – the conservatives.  And I am proud to be counted among you – fighting back for the heart and soul of our party.

When I played basketball, I always believed in leadership and teamwork.  But when the team loses focus, leaders need to step up and speak their mind.  So I say it’s time to get back to a Constitutional view of our federal government’s responsibilities.  It is time to lead our country out of the wilderness-to fight the lazy conventional wisdom of the establishment, whose inertia threatens to pull our country off a cliff.

If I just wanted to beat Harry Reid, I’d be content with becoming a U.S. Senator.  But that’s not my goal.  Beating Harry Reid is but one step along the way towards turning our nation around using the Constitution as our beacon.  That long journey must begin in this primary, and continue long after the defeat of Mr. Reid. If I am Nevada’s next U.S. Senator, I will wake up every day with the same intensity I brought to the basketball court, determined to bring back a Constitutional vision and direction for this great nation.

G.K. Chesterton once spoke of the ‘eternal rebel’ at the heart of every conservative.  He was right.  Liberty is at the core of our philosophy, but it is a revolutionary concept in this day, and as conservatives, we are the ones who can truly inspire change and yes – revolution. If you are with me, stand with me be counted.  Join me now at TARK2010.org.

Thank you.

Danny Tarkanian