ATTACK OF THE PAULTARDS: THE SEQUEL
For the latest example of how certain Ron Paul supporters self-destructively act as voter repellants rather than voter magnets, I give you Carl Dunce.
Dunce – Paul’s state director for Nevada - has his panties in twist over the Clark County GOP holding a special after-sundown caucus next week for Orthodox Jewish and 7th Day Adventist Republicans at a private school named after Sheldon Adelson – perhaps THE most generous donor to conservative/libertarian/Republican causes and candidates in all of Nevada in the history of Nevada.
But Adelson is also a major donor to a super PAC (which I’m an adviser to) supporting the presidential campaign of Newt Gingrich. And even though the private school was selected as a caucus site BEFORE Mr. Adelson got involved with the super PAC, Dunce is throwing a hissy fit; claiming Gingrich is trying “to have his billionaire buddy try and buy an election for him.”
“Billionaire buddy.”
Could you be any more crass and insulting, Mr. Dunce? And how is offering a free location in a public building for the simple purpose of holding a meeting “buying an election”? I know paranoia runs deep among some of you folks – anyone remember Jeff “Chemtrail” Greenspan in ’08? But not everything in politics is potential subject material for a sequel to “Conspiracy Theory.”
As Clark County Republican Party Chairman Dave Gibbs explained in the Las Vegas Sun this morning, the Adelson Educational Campus was chosen because “A, it was free; B, it was available; and C, it was big enough. That’s it.”
A man who has given SO generously for SO long to SO many conservative and GOP causes and candidates here in Nevada doesn’t deserve such sneering scorn and contempt by the leader of the Paul campaign in Nevada. Mr. Dunce ought to extend Mr. Adelson a public apology…as well as a note of appreciation.
ABOUT THAT SPECIAL ELECTION
There’s a vacancy on the Las Vegas city council. And a decision needs to be made whether the city council should appoint someone to fill that vacancy or hold a special election.
The argument against holding a special election – in which the citizens who will be represented actually get to, you know, choose the person to represent them – is that an election would be more expensive than, you know, “juicing” in a favored appointee.
But here’s the thing: Government is supposed to be rather limited in the things it does. And conducting elections is one of the legitimate things government is supposed to do. So hold the special election and pay for it with funds from something the government ISN’T supposed to do. How difficult is that?
FIRST FRIDAY HAPPY HOUR
This month’s First Friday Happy Hour will be held the night before the Nevada GOP presidential caucus – so stop by, unwind, and hoist a couple of cold ones in preparation for the Silver State’s day in the national political spotlight.
Oh, and we’ll also be celebrating what would have been President Ronald Reagan’s 101st birthday! The Swinger’s Club in the Plaza Hotel downtown. 5-7 pm. 50-cent PBR’s from 5-6 pm. $2 John Daley’s. Be there or be talked about!
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
* In case you’re one of the few people who hasn’t yet seen the picture of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer giving President Barack Obama the finger this week, click here
* I did not know that Rick Santorum has a 3-year-old daughter, Bella, who “suffers from the rare, but serious genetic condition, Trisomy 18, which kills about 90 percent of children before or during birth.” Bella was admitted to the hospital for an unspecified reason on Saturday - and Santorum has returned to Philly to by with her. A campaign spokesman told ABC News “even a cold is not a good thing.”
I’m sorry – and I wish little Bella ALL the best – but why is a “family values” candidate abandoning a 3-year-old toddler with a serious health issue to traipse all around the country campaigning for president instead of being home with his kid full-time? Where are Santorum’s priorities?
* "In order to hold a January primary, (Florida Republicans) defied Democratic and Republican party rules, invited penalties against their delegates at next summer's convention and infuriated party leaders in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina,” writes Alex Burns of Politico, dissing Nevada (like everyone else does) in the process.
“Now, Florida party leaders say they have every intention of making sure their unofficial status as the first mega-state primary becomes a permanent feature of presidential politics - not a one-off decision to crash the 2012 calendar, but an irreversible blow to the traditional early-state monopoly.”
* Meanwhile, Nevada continues to suck hind teat in the nomination process and risks losing even its non-consequential “Fifth in the Nation/First in the West” status. And even if the February 4 caucus is relevant only in that Romney and Gingrich are still in an actual competitive race after Florida, no one can say Nevada factored into the process to any significant degree. VERY FEW candidate appearances over the past year, and only one debate/forum during that entire period.
Any bets whether Arizona or Colorado ends up “First in the West” in 2016?
* Final word (for now) on the Nevada caucus: It was always going to be held on a Saturday. Why didn’t anyone think to consider the religious concerns of Jewish and 7th Day Adventist Republicans LONG ago? Working to accommodate such voters wasn’t dumb; waiting until the last minute was.
ALL THE “RIGHT” MOVES
* RalstonFlash reported Friday that sportscaster-turned-conservative-blogger (or “ranter,” as Jon puts it) Ron Futrell is interested in the Las Vegas city council seat being vacated by Councilman Steve Wolfson - who has been appointed to fill the vacancy of ex-Clark County District Attorney David Rogers. Futrell confirmed his interest in an email to me.
* Adam Cegavske, a Clark County school teacher and son of Republican Nevada State Sen. Barbara Cegavske – who is running for Congress – has announced as a candidate for Assembly District 35. And in a tweet Friday night, Cegavske announced the endorsements of Assemblymen Lynn Stewart and Scott Hammond – one a retired public school teacher; the other a current public school teacher. If elected, he would join Assemblywoman Melissa Woodbury, another public school teacher.
Why does all this make me feel uneasy?
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“What Obama offered the nation Tuesday night (in the State of the Union speech) was a pudding without a theme; a jumble of disconnected initiatives, a gaggle of intrusive new agencies and a whole new generation of loopholes to further corrupt a tax code that screams out for reform. If the Republicans can’t beat that in November, they should try another line of work.” – Columnist Charles Krauthammer
“The revenge of the Republican establishment is a sight to behold. From one corner to another, those who have tangled with Newt Gingrich, who feel aggrieved toward Newt Gingrich or who fear Newt Gingrich have amassed to stop him. They know how much harder it will be to do so if the former House speaker wins Florida on Tuesday.” – Dan Balz of the Washington Post
“They're trying to crucify this man (Newt Gingrich) and rewrite history and rewrite what it is that he has stood for all these years." – Sarah Palin, 1/27/12
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