In Nevada, Bill Clinton Urges Vote for Change

LAS VEGAS —  The nation has been “jammed into an ideological corner” by conservative Republicans and is primed for a power shift in the November elections, former President Clinton said Thursday.

“This is an election unlike any other I have ever participated in,” Clinton told Democratic supporters at a fundraiser in Las Vegas. “For six years, this country has been totally dominated -- not by the Republican Party; this is not fair to the Republican Party -- by a narrow sliver of the Republican Party, its more right-wing and its most ideological element.”

“When the chips are down, this country has been jammed to the right, jammed into an ideological corner, alienated from its allies, and we’re in a lot of trouble,” he said.

Clinton addressed a group of about 50 top-level donors to the Jack Carter for Senate campaign. Carter, the son of former President Carter, is running to unseat Republican Sen. John Ensign.

Clinton also attended a fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidates Jill Derby and Tessa Hafen at which the minimum contribution was $3,000.

“The Democratic Party has become the liberal and conservative party in America. If you want to be fiscally conservative, you’ve got to be for us. If you want to conserve natural resources, you’ve got to be for us,” he said. “If you want a change of course in Iraq ... you’ve got to be for us.”

Clinton also attacked Republican tax cuts, describing a repeal of the estate tax as the GOP’s top legislative priority.

Tucker Bounds, spokesman for the Republican National Committee, returned the criticism.

“It’s going to take more than a Bill Clinton stopover to change the minds of the majority of Nevadans,” he said.

“Republicans have solid candidates on the ballot that are going to keep taxes low and continue to fight terrorism,” Bounds said. He said the party had not fallen out of step with voters.