The perfect gift any time.
Nevada News & Views – December 2, 2009
Dec 2nd, 2009 by TMH
By: Chuck Muth
Nevada News and Views
TODAY’S NN&V HEADLINES
- The Obama ‘Jobs Summit’ – Who in the White House Has Ever Created a Job? (Newt Gingrich) – Tomorrow, the Obama Administration will hold its much-hyped “jobs summit” in Washington, D.C. Plenty of politicians will be there, as well as labor bosses and academics.
- GOP Candidates Running from Ensign Like Scalded Dogs (Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – If Nevada Republican candidates want embattled U.S. Sen. John Ensign to lend a hand to their election efforts in 2010, there aren’t many who are saying so at this point.
- Angle Hosted at Chicago Fundraiser (Angle for Senate campaign) – Former Nevada State Assemblywoman Sharron Angle (R-NV), appeared yesterday on local conservative talk radio in Chicago before attending a fundraiser at the American Legion Hall in West Chicago thrown by heartland supporters wanting to replace Harry Reid (D-NV) with a qualified conservative.
- Taxable Sales Down, Gibbons Weighs Special Session (Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – The final economic report anticipated by the Gibbons administration before deciding whether a special Legislative session is needed to balance the budget was released today, and the news was not good.
- Coming Up Next: Immigration Reform, The Sequel (Jim Clark) – With headlines screaming about health care reform, Afghanistan, global warming, and the Dubai default another “hope and change” scheme is quietly being hatched, or more correctly, revisited, just below the political surface . . . immigration reform.
Click here to read these stories at the Nevada News & Views site!
SURVEY SAYS!
Do you support the President’s decisions on Afghanistan as outlined Wednesday night?
- Yes
- No
To cast your vote in today’s online survey, click here!
MUTHS TRUTHS
As the Ensign Turns
In his exclusive interview with Alan Stock on KXNT radio on Monday, Sen. John Ensign said he would not resign because “We only have 40 US senators. The Democrats have 60. Another senate race here would take resources from defeating Democrats in states across the country. We need to increase, not decrease our numbers.”
Really?
Too bad Ensign didn’t think about that in 2008 when he lost 8 Republican U.S. Senate races while head of the Senatorial Committee because he was too busy trying to cover up the fact that he’d been sleeping with his best friend’s wife….while she and he were working for him. The Democrats have 60 seats today BECAUSE of John Ensign. Hasn’t he “helped” enough already?
Ensign also said he wasn’t going to resign because it would hurt efforts to knock off Harry Reid.
Oh, puh-lease. If Ensign really wanted to knock off Harry Reid he’d knock off this non-aggression pact he has with the Sage from Searchlight. And he’d have recruited, rather than discouraged, top GOP candidates against Reid in 2006. And he would have helped the Republican candidate that year instead of treating him like a leper.
The notion that suddenly John Ensign is going to help defeat Harry Reid when Harry Reid controls the Senate Ethics Committee which should be investigating Ensign doesn’t even pass the snicker test.
Ensign also said the decision on whether or not to resign “isn’t about me. It’s about supporting the principles of freedom, conservatism, and the Constitution.”
Bull. It’s all about John. Always has been. Always will be.
The fact is Rep. Dean Heller would fill John’s shoes in the Senate nicely. Actually, considering the fact that Heller voted against the TARP bailout and Ensign voted for it, the principles of freedom, conservatism and the Constitution would be in much better hands with Dean Heller in the Senate than John Ensign.
And I’m not the only one who thinks so. The Dean of Nevada Pundits agrees.
“Who do you think the Republicans would rather have occupying (Ensign’s U.S. Senate) seat in 2010,” muses Jon Ralston in his Las Vegas Sun column this morning, “an exposed hypocrite who is a national laughingstock and GOP albatross or a freshly appointed clean horse (hello, Rep. Dean Heller) the Democrats would have little chance to defeat and who could give buoyancy to a state top-of-the-ticket?”
As for Ensign wanting to be helpful and not hurtful to the GOP candidates next year, Ensign actually said, with a straight face, “A lot of people running for office next year….actually want me involved in their campaigns.”
Really? Name two.
By the way, when asked by reporter Sean Whaley of our Nevada News Bureau if any of her candidates were seeking Sen. John Ensign’s involvement in their campaigns, “(Heidi) Gansert, the Assembly minority leader, said it is a bit early in the campaign for endorsements.”
Really?
On Tuesday of this week Gansert went on Sam Shad’s Nevada Newsmakers show and publicly endorsed Brian Sandoval for governor over Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons.
Talk about a forked tongue. Then again, maybe Heidi is practicing speaking out of both sides of her mouth in hopes of replacing Ensign when he’s finally dragged kicking and screaming out of his U.S. Senate office.
TUBE TIPS
Former Las Vegas Mayor and Harrah’s government affairs executive Jan Jones goes Face to Face with Jon Ralston tonight. The program airs on Las Vegas ONE on Cox Channel 19 at 5:30 pm, 6:30 pm and 8:00 pm.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“(Sen. John Ensign) said he is staying involved because of his principles, and he thinks he can help. ‘A lot of people running for office next year want me involved in their campaigns.’ . . . In truth, GOP strategists laugh at the prospect of Ensign campaigning with anyone facing voters next year. The party does not expect him to be involved at all.” – Hotline On Call, 12/1/09
HELP WANTED
Freelance “Stringers” – Volunteers wanted to write interesting op-eds or engage in targeted “citizen journalism” around the state. If you have a gift for the written word and an interest in government and/or politics, please contact Nevada News Bureau editor Elizabeth Crum at editor@nevadanewsbureau.com
CALENDAR
- December 4: Nevada “Newsmaker Briefing” with Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nevada) sponsored by Citizen Outreach Foundation and the Nevada News Bureau.
- December 4: First Friday Happy Hour Brewhaha and CHRISTMAS (not “Holiday”) Party in Las Vegas. VIP guests include Nevada Congressman Dean Heller, former Governor and First Lady Kenny and Dema Guinn….and the United States Marines! Please bring a new, unwrapped toy for their Toys for Tots campaign. Visit www.FirstFridayNevada.com
- December 4th: First Friday Happy Hour RENO at 5:30 pm at the Prospectors Lounge in Harrah’s downtown. Bring a an unwrapped gift for a child and get a discount on the great eats at Harrah’s. The gifts will benefit Kid’s Kottage emergency shelter.
- December 15: Center-right coalition meeting co-hosted by Citizen Outreach and the Nevada Policy Research Institute at 8:30 am. Invitation only.
- February 6: Citizen Outreach’s “Reagan Tribute” in Las Vegas. Details to come.
May 12-13: Conservative Leadership Conference in Las Vegas co-hosted by Citizen Outreach and Americans for Tax Reform. Details to follow.
