Arizona Sen. John McCain is full of self-serving crap.
On Meet the Press Sunday, McCain whined about Sheldon Adelson helping to level the playing field for Newt Gingrich vs. the Mitt Romney war-chest. "I guarantee you there will be a scandal,” St. John warned ominously. “There is too much money washing around politics. And it's making parties irrelevant, by the way.”
Bull.
The parties are pretty much irrelevant today thanks almost entirely to an offensive, anti-free speech law known and reviled as “McCain-Feingold.” Co-authored by…Sen. John McCain.
And the major reason major donors are donating to super-PACs now is because of other stupid campaign finance reform laws dating back to the 70’s that placed ridiculously low limits on direct contributions to the actual candidates.
To put the candidates back in charge of their own campaigns and make the parties relevant again, repeal those dumb laws…allow unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations and unions…and post all such donations on a public website within 48 hours. Just give the voters the information and let them decide if the donations mean anything or not.
So let it be written; so let it be done.
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 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!
RINO NEWS
More bad news for Nevada conservatives today.
Assemblyman Tom Grady (r-Yerington) announced this afternoon he was running for re-election, laughably claiming in a press release that he “has consistently been an advocate for lower taxes.”
What a load of flapdoodle. Grady has refused to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and voted FOR the $620 million tax hike extension last session.
In the release, Grady also said, “My political philosophy is quite simple: listen to the people, be honest and responsible, help your constituents, and do what is best for Nevada.”
Blecchh! I’m sorry, but that’s not a political philosophy. That’s political gobble-di-gook. Any card-carrying liberal could say the exact same thing.
Indeed, Grady had the third WORST conservative score of all Assembly Republicans in Citizen Outreach’s ratings of the 2011 session, chalking up a putrid 43.5%.
What makes Grady’s record so much worse is that he doesn’t *have* to vote like a liberal in order to get elected. He represents one of the most solidly Republican districts in the entire state. The guy could vote 100% conservative and still be elected in a landslide in his rural district. Instead, he votes like a RINO – Republican In Name Only.
Now would be a good time, and Assembly District 38 would be a good place, for the tea party folks to do a little political culling from the GOP herd. But you can’t beat somebody with nobody. Who will step forward to challenge the tax-hiking, liberal-voting Mr. Grady? Anyone?
DON’T HEDGE, SIGN THE PLEDGE
Every Republican legislator who signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge voted AGAINST the $620 million tax hike last year…and every Republican who voted FOR the tax hike refused to sign the Pledge. So if you don’t want your taxes raised in Nevada, it’s simple: Tell candidates: “If you don’t sign the Pledge, you don’t get my vote.”
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
* Taxable sales in Nevada for November 2011 were up by almost 10% over the same period in 2010. Yet another indication that there was no need to extend the $620 million worth of tax hikes in the last legislative session. Should have just stuck with the governor’s original budget.
* Mitt Romney should be crushing Newt Gingrich in Florida. Alex Burns of Politico noted on Monday that the Romney campaign and the super PAC Restore Our Future has spent a combined $15 million in advertising there, while the Gingrich campaign and the super PAC Winning Our Future have spent less than $4 million, and that “doesn't include Romney's edge in field operations, mail, et cetera."
* Aaron Blake of The Fix reports that Newt Gingrich “argued over the weekend that he could stay in the race for the next four or five months and prevent Romney from getting a majority of delegates to the national convention - thereby preventing the former Massachusetts governor from winning the nomination outright.” Ron Paul is shooting for the same goal. Could a brokered convention actually become a reality this time around?
* Public Policy Polling reported this afternoon that “Santorum and Gingrich both beat Romney 1 on 1 in Ohio and Missouri. One will have to drop out if Mitt's going to be stopped.” Makes Florida more about solidifying the “not Romney” designation than actually beating Romney. A strong second place finish for Gingrich in Florida and Nevada could ratchet up conservative and tea party pressure on Santorum to hang up his cleats.
* Correction: I’ve been advised that Ron Paul supporter Carl Dunce’s last name is actually spelled “Bunce.” We almost regret the error.
ALL THE “RIGHT” MOVES
* For those complaining about the evening caucus this Saturday to accommodate Jewish and 7th Day Adventist Republicans, Nevada GOP National Committeeman Bob List had this to say in an email to me this morning:
“We are doing everything we can to broaden the GOP base. As you know, the Commandment to honor the Sabbath is a Commandment, not a suggestion. As a Christian, I respect those who take it seriously from any religion. This is not an effort to please Sheldon Adelson; it is an effort to get as many people engaged in defeating Obama as possible.”
* Contrary to the paranoia running rampant among the supporters of some presidential candidates, the Adelsons had nothing to do with the special evening caucus that will be held this Saturday to accommodate Jewish and 7th Day Adventist Republican voters, so says his spokesman. You can read the full statement here
* The last day to pre-register for the Nevada presidential caucus in Clark County is this Thursday. Go to http://cts.vresp.com/c/?CitizenOutreach/ca9c1dce31/3add5de2bd/067dd208cc, click on the right hand side, and fill out the info.
* The Newt Gingrich campaign sent out an email about its own caucus registration website this evening: http://cts.vresp.com/c/?CitizenOutreach/ca9c1dce31/3add5de2bd/27ba9e1bee/Newt/d64548fcfd/bceed4866f/2ae1f274ec. “It is important that we have a detailed list of our supporters to determine the exact coverage for the caucus this Saturday,” the email explains.
* Ron Paul will deliver a speech at Green Valley Ranch Casino in Henderson tomorrow night at 5:30 pm. Details here
* Rick Santorum’s campaign will be holding public events in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Santorum is schedule to personally appear from 4:30-5:30 pm at the headquarters of Tea Party & Republicans Uniting Nevada Conservatives (TRUNC) at 2041 N. Jones Blvd., #103, Las Vegas, NV 89108. And at 5:00 the campaign office at 8550 W. Charleston Blvd., #110 will be hosting a Florida Primary results-watching party. Santorum is expected at the HQ after leaving TRUNC.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“Ron Paul (says) TSA ‘a bureaucratic monster.’ True. Airport security line only place that makes me long for courtesy & efficiency of DMV.” – Tweet from Fred Thompson
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