Movement Started by iOwnTheWorld
The perfect gift any time.
Nevada News & Views – December 11, 2009
Dec 11th, 2009 by TMH
By: Chuck Muth
Nevada News and Views
TODAY’S NN&V HEADLINES
- Black Thursday for Clark County GOP (Chuck Muth) – The Clark County Republican Party suffered a severe blood-letting at an emergency late-night Executive Board meeting on Thursday which ended up in mass resignations.
- Rory Reid Slams Gibbons as “Worst Governor in America” (Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid called Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons “the worst governor in America” in an email sent yesterday to supporters seeking contributions for his campaign next year.
- Nutcase left presses its case; Republicans contemplate their navels (Rep. John Shadegg) – For opponents of socialism this week was typically – albeit disgustingly – frustrating.
- The Teacher’s Union That Stole Christmas (Warner Todd Huston) – The Weekly Standard has an excellent new article in its latest issue that reports on the discouraging story of the Washington D.C. teachers union that is rushing headlong toward destroying the successful and popular federally-funded D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP).
- Special Holiday Report from New Nevada GOP Chief (Chris Comfort) – As your Chairman, the vision of making the Republican Party safe for all of you who believe in a constitutional republic is my sole and enduring goal. Together, we will build a durable organization and I am happy to report to you, personally, that this objective is being met every day since taking office.
- Double-Digit Decline in October Gaming Win Called Disappointing (Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – Nevada gaming revenues declined significantly again in October after two months of what was hoped to be the beginnings of a turnaround in the state’s biggest industry.
- Unemployment Benefits Extension to Arrive By Saturday (Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – More than 6,000 Nevadans who have exhausted their unemployment benefits can expect to receive their first payment of the recently passed TIER III extension by this Saturday afternoon, weeks ahead of schedule, Gov. Jim Gibbons announced today.
Click here to read these stories at the Nevada News & Views site!
SURVEY SAYS!
Will the Republican Party in Nevada be able to get its act together in time for next November’s elections?
- Absolutely. Piece of cake.
- Yeah, right. In your dreams.
- There’s a Republican Party in Nevada?
To cast your vote in today’s online survey, click here!
MUTHS TRUTHS
In a Nevada Newsmakers interview this week, Sen. Bill Raggio (R-Reno) said: “I think divisive primaries are hurting the Republican Party. We ought to be encouraging unity in the party instead of extremism trying to rip it apart.”
Really?
By now, we all know how Sen. Raggio has a tendency to talk out of both sides of his mouth; guaranteeing in the 2008 GOP primary campaign that he wouldn’t support raising taxes in the 2009 legislative session only to then engineer behind the scenes more than a billion dollars worth of tax hikes on Nevada’s families and small businesses.
So it will come as no surprise that Sen. Raggio is actually guilty of doing exactly what he accuses the “extremists” of doing as far as Republican primaries are concerned.
You see, early during the last legislative session, conservative Assemblyman Ty Cobb – who signed and honored the Taxpayer Protection Pledge by opposing and voting against any and all efforts to increase taxes – let it be known that he was going to run for the state Senate seat being vacated in 2010 by moderate, tax-hiking Sen. Randolph Townsend (R-Reno) who is term-limited.
So what did Sen. Raggio do?
He recruited a government employee, Ben Kieckhefer – who has no prior electoral experience and has said he won’t sign the Taxpayer Protection Plege – to run against Cobb in the Republican primary next year.
According to Sen. Raggio, an “extremist” is apparently any Republican who doesn’t believe in raising taxes in the middle of this recession. In reality, fiscal conservatives are in the mainsteam or public opinion. The extremists who are ripping the GOP apart are liberal Republicans such as Sen. Raggio who are working feverishly to keep conservative Republicans out of office.
If Sen. Raggio really desires party unity, as he claims, he’d resign immediately and turn his seat over to Sharron Angle who he defeated last year under false pretenses, while simultaneously encouraging young Mr. Kieckhefer not to quit his day job at Government, Inc. and drop out of this divisive senate race.
That would allow the party to get back to its roots and coalesce around fiscally conservative principles and candidates.
Don’t hold your breath.
OTHER NEWS & VIEWS
- A Washington insider magazine says Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nevada) isn’t doing enough to whore himself out as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Dennis Myers of Reno News & Views has the details.
- Oscar yes, or Oscar no for governor? Only Jon Ralston knows for sure. Or not.
- Columnist Vin Suprynowicz notes that Nevada Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio said this week that layoffs of state employees should be a “last resort” in trying to balance the budget. “And we still wonder why the Republican Party does such a lame-ass job drawing voters to a supposedly ‘smaller government’ alternative in the Silver State?” Vin asks. Read the rest HERE
- You Might Be a RINO If…
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“The one thing that struck me (in his televised interview on Nevada Newsmakers this week) was when (Sen. Bill Raggio) said those opposed to his tax hikes have ‘extremist positions.’ Thus Bill is accusing himself of having ‘extremist positions’ because those supporting his recall have the same position he did during the election (in 2008). One thing that is extremist is the overuse of the word extremist in politics. If we charged politicians and TV talking heads $10 for every time they used the word extremist we could balance the budget.” – Dana Allen, organizer of the Raggio recall effort in Reno
