Big Bird controversy ruffles a voter’s feathers at voting drive

At least one Las Vegas Valley resident is changing her vote because of the Big Bird controversy.

Daisy Garcia loves Big Bird. She loves Sesame Street. She makes money selling Walt Disney's Sesame Street CDs at the Las Vegas Outlet Center on Las Vegas Boulevard South. She sells on commission.

It's a popular item. The Sesame Street characters will sing your kid's name.

She said there's no way now that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is getting her vote for his remarks about Big Bird the other night during the first presidential debate with President Barack Obama. Romney said he would cut the federal subsidy for PBS because the nation couldn't afford it, and Big Bird is a part of PBS.

"Big Bird came to my hospital room in Maricopa County when I was just a kid in Arizona," she said. "I was an epileptic. I was a lab rat. They were trying different drugs on me to see if they worked. Big Bird, he gave me an ice cream cone and a soda. I'll always remember that. He was nice to me. He was so cute. Why would anybody want to kill Big Bird?"

Garcia was just one of many who offered their political opinions when solicited just outside of the mall's food court, where a voter registration drive kicked into high gear Saturday, the last chance for unregistered voters to fill out forms at local malls and other designated sites around Clark County.

CONVENIENCE NO LONGER

If you haven't registered to vote yet, the bad news is you can't just fill out any piece of registration at any old place around town. Nor can you go online, because online registration ended Saturday night.

Now it remains your civic duty to trek on down to either the Clark County Elections Department or the Government Center before 9 p.m. Oct. 16, the final deadline, according to Billie Rayford, Diana Stith and Phyllis Knight.

They were a trio of hardworking volunteers who propped up stands and handed out voter registration forms to the people who were passing by in the mall's food court. All three managed to bring in nearly 150 voters on Saturday because of their mere presence.

County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said he wasn't sure how many people registered around the county Saturday, but he liked Knight's figures for the one site.

In all, he said there are 825,000 active registered voters in the county. That's a significant increase from June's primary, where there were 690,000 registered voters .

Lomax said he hopes to reach as many as 840,000 registered voters by Oct. 16, but only time will tell.

"We've literally got box loads of registration applications that have to be put in the system," he said.

'YOU SHOULD HAVE A LITTLE MORE PRIDE'

Presidential elections historically drive up voter registration and voter turnout, which proved to be the case for J.C. Hernandez, 38, a Marine veteran.

He registered to vote on Saturday, he said, because there's no way he's going to let Obama win, at least not easily.

"I've always believed in the Republican Party," Hernandez said. "Their issues don't always add up to what people say about the Republicans. It's not one of these 'Oh, the rich get richer' under the Republicans. It's about fighting and working for what you want, and you have to work hard. If you work hard, then the government can help you out, but you shouldn't get help from the government for not working."

Hernandez went on to say that he's getting sick and tired of seeing people who have given up looking for work and are merely looking for government handouts.

"I'm all for equality," he said, but added that he doesn't like government spending taxpayer money on welfare.

"And if you're sitting at home and you've never served your country, and you need money, why would you want taxpayers to pay for your living? You should have a little more pride," Hernandez said.

Garcia, the Big Bird aficionado, doesn't know all about that. All she knows is that Romney went after an incredibly innocent creature in Big Bird, and she's not going to tolerate it.

"You have to draw the line at some point," she said. "I'm going to draw it at Big Bird."

Contact reporter Tom Ragan at tragan@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512.