By: Chuck Muth
Nevada News and Views

TODAY’S NN&V HEADLINES

• Republicans vs. Reid: The Senate Race of the Year (John Gizzi/Human Events) – Eleven months from now, Nevadans will decide whether to give a fourth term to the Democrat who styles himself “the most powerful senator Nevada has ever had” or to become only the second state in more than a half-century to oust the sitting majority leader of the U.S. Senate.
• Heller on health care, war, Ensign and torture (Steve Sebelius/CityLife) – U.S. Rep. Dean Heller said two ideas he’s proposed for the health-care bill were rejected, including one that was opposed by his fellow Republicans. In a wide-ranging interview with bloggers and radio talkers Friday, sponsored by the Nevada News Bureau and held in the offices of Republican consultant Sig Rogich, Heller said he’d tried to get amendments to allow student loan forgiveness for doctors and nurses who go to work in under-served rural and urban areas, to no avail.
• Setting record straight on unemployment insurance regulations (Gov. Jim Gibbons) – Several media outlets recently published comments made by Assemblyman Marcus Conklin trying to excuse the lack of action by the Legislative Committee to Review Regulations, which he chairs.
• Lil’ Tark Needs a Spark (Mike Zahara) – He’s a likable guy. I wrote that about GOP US Senate candidate, Danny Tarkanian, earlier this year. If likeability were the determining factor in electing our next US Senator for the soon-to-be-defeated seat of Senator Harry Reid, Tarkanian would win in a landslide.
• There Are Some Things We Can’t Cut? (Mark Noonan) – Its, once again, budget crunch time here in Nevada. As expected by everyone who isn’t either a tax-and-spend liberal or Republican In Name Only (RINO), the revenue projections when the budget was written have proven to be entirely bogus.

Click here to read these stories at the Nevada News & Views site!

JOIN US FOR A PRIVATE LUNCH WITH JOHN CHACHAS

John Chachas is a native Nevadan (Ely) who made it big on Wall Street. He’s now a Republican candidate for the United States Senate in Nevada who has put up a million dollars of his own money and raised another $300,000 for the race. He’s also hired one of the top GOP political consultants in the state to run his campaign, Ryan Erwin.

So although not well known yet in political circles, Mr. Chachas is definitely a potential force to be reckoned with in the Republican Party primary race for the nomination to run against Harry Reid next November and will be our special guest at a very small, private lunch hosted by Citizen Outreach on Wednesday at Gordon Biersch restaurant in Las Vegas at noon.

Here’s your chance to meet the candidate, hear his views and grill him on the issues at a private, exclusive event. Only 20 seats available and only $25 per person! Please RSVP to Karri Bragg at [email protected]

MUTH’S TRUTHS

• The question has been raised as to whether or not a Republican is a RINO (Republican in Name Only) just because they vote for tax hikes. No, not necessarily. A RINO is someone who not only votes for tax hikes but also has a voting record like THIS. And someone with a record like that who represents a Republican-majority district rather than a Democrat-majority district absolutely should be replaced in a Republican primary race next June with a real Republican.
• From the No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Office of the Department of Stupid is as Stupid Does comes this story about the Clark County Republican Party. Their Executive Board voted this week to turn down an offer I made to host a holiday party event at my home the day after Christmas to help them raise some much-needed money. Among the reasons for the decision: I’m not a registered Republican. I guess the GOP is in such great shape these days that it doesn’t need any volunteer help or money from any non-Republican independents. But that’s probably just a myopic view.
• Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Wiley got mad at a blog poster this week who called him a RINO, noting that Wiley “was a registered DEMOCRAT from Florida who carpet bagged to Nevada.” Wiley, ever on the lookout for opportunities to win friends and influence voters, responded by writing “you are just plain stupid.” Now if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle black.
• If you live in Las Vegas, are roughly between the ages of 21 and 65, and looking for a darned good night out on the town, make sure you check out the new Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar in Town Square. And if you missed the Tran-Siberian Orchestra concert in Vegas yesterday….well, boy did you miss a great concert.

OTHER NEWS & VIEWS

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sue Lowden’s called on Harry Reid this weekend to dispute the following facts on his health care reform bill:

• Medicare Advantage is cut by $120 BILLION
• Hospitals treating Medicare patients are cut by $135 BILLION
• Home health care is cut by more than $42 BILLION
• Nursing homes are cut by nearly $15 BILLION
• Hospice care is cut by $7.6 BILLION

“If Harry Reid disputes these facts, let’s hear it,” Lowden said in a press release. “Otherwise, he should stop misleading Nevada’s seniors, own up to the provisions he authored, and explain how these cuts will improve our quality of care in Nevada.”

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

• “Sources confirm that the Senate panel has begun issuing subpoenas for documents, including to key players in the case involving U.S. Sen. John Ensign’s scandal. . . . The data collection is a clear sign that the committee is moving ahead with the probe, no matter how slowly.” – Jon Ralston, Flash, 12/4/09
• “(Sarah Palin’s) unifying and dividing at the same time. She’s exciting and has a magnetic personality; and at the same time, she walks the line of being taken seriously. She has appeal to conservatives and hockey moms, but there’s also been a string of goofiness and inexplicable actions that you kind of look at and say, ‘Huh?'” – Ryan Erwin, a consultant to Republican Senate candidate John Chachas
• “I don’t think I need his help in this race.” – GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle on the question of Sen. John Ensign’s claim that Republican candidates want him involved in their campaigns next year, CQ Politics, 12/3/09