Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's job isn't just posing with showgirls and male strippers. Goodman is always happy to have his picture taken and has said he's willing to lend his support to any candidate he knows and thinks will serve the city well. Photo by Gary Thompson.

The battle between the Nevada Democratic Party and online liberal activists continues to rage, with MoveOn.org saying Friday it had collected 135,000 signatures on a petition asking the party to dissociate itself from the Fox News cable channel.

"Hopefully, they're getting the hint," MoveOn.org Civic Action spokesman Adam Green said.

But the party, which is partnering with Fox News to broadcast a Democratic presidential debate Aug. 14 in Reno, wasn't backing down.

State party Chairman Tom Collins sent a lengthy e-mail to members Friday evening seeking to assuage their concerns.

"Believe me, I am all too aware of the challenges associated with Fox," Collins wrote. "And this is not an endorsement of Fox."

The party "got, in writing, a number of concessions" from the channel to ensure the debate broadcast was fair, Collins said. "You may not agree with us, but trust that this is not a sell-out or a cave-in to the lures of Fox. This is how we will win over new voters."

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, once the darling of the lefty blogosphere, wasn't taking its side on the issue either. He told the San Francisco Chronicle, "While the Fox News Channel rarely has coverage that is fair and balanced, we believe that Fox viewers, who are potential voters, should have the opportunity to see a debate between our candidates. These forums provide an important unfiltered opportunity for potential voters to see Democrats without the bias of the network."

Green said it was disappointing for Dean to engage the network when, in 2005, he'd called it "a propaganda outlet of the Republican Party."

Green said Democratic Party officials ignored the views of the "netroots" at their peril, noting that MoveOn sent a survey to its 10,000 Nevada members and got more than 500 back, 75 percent of which were against the Fox News partnership.

"There are consequences for the entire progressive movement if we legitimize Fox News as if it were a credible news organization," he said.

However, Green said his group was not taking the step of asking the candidates to boycott the debate because of the network's involvement.

NEVADANS BLAMELESS

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack came to Carson City. Two days later, he dropped out of the race for president.

That left Nevadans wondering: Was it something we said?

As the anonymous blogger who calls himself Nevada Scandalmonger put it after the news broke Friday, "Vilsack's out. What did you guys do to him up in Gibbons Country?!?"

In a conference call Friday, Vilsack declined to correlate his appearance at Wednesday's Democratic candidate forum in Nevada with his decision not to seek the nomination.

The decision, he said, "has been ongoing for the last several weeks." He said the timing had to do with wanting to free up his staffers to find other campaign work and not wanting to go further into debt to finance his campaign.

Vilsack spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday that Nevada wasn't to blame.

"The thing that drove today's decision was money," namely Vilsack's inability to raise it, Earnest said.

"If anything, the forum in Carson City confirmed what we all believe -- that Tom Vilsack fared very well when he shared the stage with the other candidates for president. We were always confident that his record and ideas compared very favorably to the other candidates."

ROADWAY REFERENDUM

Legislators looking for a way to raise revenue for the state's transportation needs without getting painted as tax-hikers have been talking about putting a measure on the ballot, allowing voters to choose between higher taxes and inadequate roadways.

But local and national conservative voices say they're not going to let the lawmakers get away with that.

Carson City conservative commentator and activist Chuck Muth has been circulating an online petition against such a measure.

"If the Legislature can't pass and get the governor to sign a tax hike on its own ... they should not be allowed to put it on the ballot themselves," Muth writes on his Web site.

The initiative process, which allows citizens to collect signatures to put referendums up to a vote, is the proper venue for such an idea, Muth said.

Muth last week got backing from his old Washington, D.C., buddy Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.

"Taxpayers don't need the legislature to put a tax increase on the ballot," Norquist wrote in a letter. "If they truly feel higher taxes are needed, they can go out and collect the necessary signatures. ... A vote to short-circuit the initiative process to put a tax hike on the ballot would amount to an abdication of fiscal leadership."

Muth said about 100 concerned citizens had sent the petition to legislators, few of whom had been receptive.

Sen. Dennis Nolan informed Muth their friendship, which Muth had not known to exist, was over; Sen. Mike Schneider was irked at the volume of e-mail; Assemblyman Mark Manendo said he would only listen to those who lived in his district.

Sen. Bill Raggio and Sen. Dina Titus got points for class at least, replying to petitioners with canned responses thanking them for their input.

Only Sen. Joe Heck took a stand, assuring correspondents that he would not shirk his responsibility to make decisions about taxes by punting to the ballot.

Muth said he was fairly sure his effort had been a success.

"It was a shot across their bow, saying, 'You're going to stir up a hornet's nest with those of us on the right if you do this,' " he said. "I'd be very surprised if they go forward with it now."

PICTURE PERFECT

Mayor Oscar Goodman is being courted like a homecoming queen, as he is most every election. But he might be better thought of as the girl who won't say no.

Goodman is lending his photo, a nice quote, and maybe even some fundraising support to a variety of candidates in Las Vegas City Council races -- even those who are running against each other.

Take Ward 5, where 10 candidates vie to replace Councilman Lawrence Weekly. Goodman is giving support to the two top candidates in the race.

On brochures for candidate Ricki Barlow, the mayor is seen posing with Weekly's former council liaison. The quote from Goodman says, in part, "He's one of the most honest and hard working people at City Hall."

It falls short of a "vote for this candidate" statement.

Another candidate in the Ward 5 race, Stacie Truesdell -- a lawyer and daughter of Richard and Trish Truesdell, who are friends of the Goodman family -- is also getting help from hizzoner.

Carolyn Goodman, the mayor's wife, will be a host at a fundraiser next month. And more help might be coming.

"The mayor is always happy to pose with somebody, to have their picture taken," said Gary Gray, a Truesdell political consultant. "He says nice things about many people. I'm sure he will about Stacie as well."

Goodman's actions are reminiscent of the Clark County Commission race last year, where he danced with incumbent Myrna Williams and the eventual winner, Chris Giunchigliani.

Goodman was a no-show at Barlow's grand opening of his campaign headquarters on Saturday. But the mayor has said that he is willing to lend his support to any candidate he knows and thinks will serve the city well.

Review-Journal writer David McGrath Schwartz contributed to this report. Contact political reporter Molly Ball at 387-2919 or MBall@reviewjournal.com.